kenley jansen

The Dodgers are not the norm in baseball. For the majority of teams in the major leagues, the last week of the regular season is the last week until spring training.

As the Angels played out their final week, the Angel Stadium store featured a “Thank You Fans” sale, with up to 50% off caps, T-shirts, polo shirts, jackets, even authentic Mike Trout jerseys.

Inside the clubhouse, the reminders for players had the feel of the final week of school: return your team-issued iPad; order your gloves for next season; take your exit physical.

As the Dodgers play out their final week of the regular season, on the road, the Dodger Stadium store is stocking up on blue “October Baseball” T-shirts, the same ones the players wore last week, when they clinched a postseason spot.

On Thursday, the Dodgers clinched the National League West, again. On Tuesday, the Dodgers will make their 13th consecutive postseason appearance, one shy of the major league record. Only once in those 13 seasons did the Dodgers fail to win the NL West: in 2021, when they won 106 games and the San Francisco Giants won 107.

For the Angels and their decorated closer, and for 17 other teams, Tuesday will be the second day of the offseason. That is the norm in baseball, at least outside Chavez Ravine, the Bronx, and recently Milwaukee.

Kenley Jansen played October baseball for the Dodgers from 2013-21, and for the Atlanta Braves in 2022.

In 2023, the first time in 11 years Jansen did not appear in the postseason, his family alerted him that the Dodgers’ playoff opener was on television, with good friend Clayton Kershaw pitching.

Jansen had no interest in watching.

“I’m like, guys, I’m not on the Dodgers anymore,’ ” he said this week at Angel Stadium.

He wanted to be around his family. His friends and family members wanted to be around him, which they assumed meant around baseball.

“I get it,” he said. “I still feel like I’m going to get those calls: Did you watch that game?”

He appreciates how difficult it is to get to the playoffs. In his first two full seasons, the Dodgers vs. the rest of the league at Dodger Stadium was a sideshow to the main event: Frank McCourt vs. Major League Baseball in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

Never mind whether the Dodgers would make the playoffs. Would the players get paid?

“We went from the bankrupt Dodgers to getting into the playoffs every year,” Jansen said. “I think it was the core group, the leadership that we had, plus the front office and the ownership wanting to win a championship every year. They make it competitive.

“They’ve got to keep that train going.”

Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani, center, celebrates with teammates in the locker room after the Dodgers defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks on Thursday to clinch the NL West division title.

(Darryl Webb / Associated Press)

In Anaheim, for the first time in 50 years, the Angels are bound for a second consecutive last-place finish. Their last postseason appearance: 11 years ago. Their last winning record: 10 years ago.

This playoff drought included the stretch in which Trout and Shohei Ohtani played together. The Dodgers are more — much more — than Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman.

“For me, on the other side now, I see how hard it is to get in the playoffs,” Jansen said. “It’s not easy. You’ve got to have depth — not only here in the big leagues, but depth in the system — to give yourself a chance to win the division.”

It’s too bad the Dodgers and Angels could not complete a trade to get Jansen back to Los Angeles, where he would immediately have become the Dodgers’ most reliable right-handed reliever.

Jansen has a 2.64 ERA this season, and he has converted 28 of 29 save opportunities. He hasn’t given up a hit in more than a month.

But the Angels didn’t sell at the trade deadline, declaring they were in serious contention without buying any serious upgrades.

Dodgers fans should take it from Jansen: Don’t take this golden era for granted. Take a few days to appreciate it. On Wednesday, Jansen said, he’ll start his offseason workouts.

On Tuesday, the Dodgers will start the playoffs, trying to become baseball’s first back-to-back champions in 25 years. The percentages are not in their favor: As of Thursday, Baseball Prospectus gives the Dodgers a 9.6% chance to win the World Series, a smaller chance than the Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies and Seattle Mariners.

The Angels have been so bad for so long that a division championship would be cause for great celebration. The Dodgers have been so good for so long that nothing but a World Series championship would suffice.

And so, on Tuesday, the days of gratitude can end, and Dodgers fans can resume reflexively criticizing their manager and grimacing about whether they can trust anyone in their bullpen.

Taylor Ward homered, Kenley Jansen earned his 475th career save and the Angels beat the Kansas City Royals 3-2 on Wednesday night to avoid a series sweep.

Only four pitchers have at least 475 saves: Jansen, Mariano Rivera (652), Trevor Hoffman (601) and Lee Smith (478).

Yusei Kikuchi (7-11) gave up just one hit while striking out six over five innings. He was removed with a left forearm cramp before the sixth. Jansen struck out two in the ninth for his 28th save of the season.

Luis Rengifo doubled and scored on Oswald Peraza’s groundout in the second inning for a 1-0 lead. Ward added a 320-foot solo home run in the third to became one of just three MLB players this season with at least 35 homers, 100 RBIs and 30 doubles.

Royals’ starter Stephen Kolek (5-7) went six innings, giving up three runs on five hits while striking out two. In the fourth, Kolek tried to cut down Peraza at second, but his throw sailed wide of second baseman Jonathan India, allowing Peraza to score for a 3-0 lead.

Randal Grichuk’s homer in the fifth was the only hit given up Kikuchi.

Carter Jensen scored to bring the Royals within a run of Los Angeles in the seventh inning.

The Angels entered the night with the worst save percentage (51%) in the majors and the highest bullpen ERA in the AL at 4.87. They won for just the second time in their last 12 games.

Key moment

Second baseman Christian Moore laid out for a diving stop, then fired to first for the third out of the seventh, preserving the Angels’ 3–2 lead.

Key stat

The Royals came into the night averaging the third-fewest team errors per game in the majors (0.37), but had three against the Angels.

Up next

Mitch Farris (1-2, 6.52 ERA) takes the mound for the Angels while Michael Lorenzen (6-11, 4.70) gets the start for the Royals in a series-closing matchup Thursday.

Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a tie-breaking homer in the ninth inning and Kyle Tucker went deep for the first time in more than a month as the Chicago Cubs beat the Angels 3-2 on Friday night to open a nine-game trip.

Crow-Armstrong connected for a solo shot off Kenley Jansen (5-4) with one out, his 28th home run this season and first in his last 25 games.

Tucker also ended a 25-game drought with a solo drive off Tyler Anderson in the first — his first longball since July 19.

Yoán Moncada homered twice for the Angels, including a tying shot in the seventh. It was his first multihomer game with the Angels (61-67).

Javier Assad allowed one run in six innings for the Cubs (74-55) after being recalled from triple-A Iowa before the game. He took a no-hitter into the fifth before Moncada homered.

Brad Keller (4-1) pitched a perfect eighth and Daniel Palencia struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth for his 19th save.

Anderson permitted two runs and three hits in five innings with five strikeouts and two walks. He’s gone 21 straight starts without a win.

Key moment: Crow-Armstrong was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts when he stepped to the plate in the ninth, but he got a 92 mph cutter over the heart of the plate from Jansen and sent it 396 feet into the right-field stands.

Key stat: Tucker’s 25-game home-run drought was his longest since his rookie season in 2018.

Up next: Angels RHP Victor Mederos (0-1, 5.54 ERA) faces Cubs RHP Cade Horton (7-4, 3.08) on Saturday in a matchup of rookie starters.

Hunter Greene had 12 strikeouts in 6 1/3 innings, Noelvi Marte homered, doubled and drove in two runs, and the Cincinnati Reds beat the Angels 6-4 on Tuesday night.

Jose Trevino scored on a sacrifice fly by TJ Friedl and Gavin Lux followed with an RBI double off Kenley Jansen (5-3) in the ninth inning to give Cincinnati a 6-4 lead.

Miguel Andujar was three for four with a double and two RBIs.

Greene gave up three runs and six hits and walked none. Luis Mey (2-0) pitched the eighth inning and gave up Jo Adell’s second solo homer of the game but got the win.

Elly De La Cruz walked with two out in the fifth and then scored from first base on a single by Andujar.

Mike Trout doubled and then scored when Taylor Ward hit the next pitch — a 100-mph fastball — to right field for a single in the first. Adell hit a solo homer in the seventh.

De La Cruz singled to lead off the fourth and scored when Andujar hit the fourth consecutive sinker thrown by Kyle Hendricks for a double. After Austin Hays walked, Marte doubled to drive in Andujar and give the Reds a 3-1 lead.

Marte extended his hitting streak to 10 games.

Key moment

After Marte struck out swinging to lead off the ninth, Trevino singled, Ke’Bryan Hayes was hit by a pitch and pinch-hitter Will Benson walked to load the bases before Friedl gave Cincinnati the lead for good.

Key stat

Greene is the first Reds pitcher to strike out at least 12 batters and walk none since Johnny Cueto on June 11, 2014.

Up next

Cincinnati’s Nick Martinez (10-9, 4.73 ERA) is set to pitch Wednesday against Yusei Kikuchi (6-8, 3.52) to wrap up a three-game series.

Kenley Jansen signed his first professional contract with the Dodgers 21 years ago. He was Clayton Kershaw’s catcher in rookie ball. He has been honored as an All-Star four times. He has saved more games than all but three men in major league history, all of them Hall of Famers. He won a World Series with the Dodgers.

For all that Jansen has accomplished in his two decades in pro ball, there is one thing he has not experienced: He never has been traded.

That could happen in the coming days, with baseball’s trade deadline next Thursday. As we talked about that possibility Friday at Angel Stadium, and about how the sport can be a cold business at times, he dropped 11 words that stood out.

“I thought,” he said, “I would play my whole career with the Dodgers.”

Maybe you can go home again.

The Dodgers are urgently shopping for right-handed relievers. In Anaheim, Jansen is enjoying a season that by some measures is his best since 2021, his last season with the Dodgers.

First things first: Jansen did not sign with the Angels just to rack up saves. He is 36 saves shy of 500, a milestone reached only by Mariano Rivera and Trevor Hoffman.

“I came here with one goal in mind,” Jansen said, “and the goal was to help this team turn around, to end that playoff drought. That’s what I’m here for.

“If they move me, I’d definitely feel disappointed we didn’t accomplish it.”

But let’s be real: The longest playoff drought in the majors is likely to hit 11 years. The Angels are 4-1/2 games out of a postseason berth, but they would have to pass six teams to sneak into the last wild-card spot in the American League playoffs. Baseball Prospectus projects their chance of making the playoffs at 2%.

The Angels demoted their fifth starter this month. They have been running bullpen games because they had no one in their farm system ready to fill the vacancy. They only have two starters you could pencil into their 2026 rotation.

They need pitching depth, and it would be organizational malpractice not to get some by trading their pending free agents, Jansen included.

Kenley Jansen pitches for the Dodgers against the Atlanta Braves in Game 3 of the NLCS on Oct. 19, 2021.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

For the Angels, the optimal outcome would be a team desperate for a closer overpaying to get Jansen.

However, such a team would be more likely to overpay for the marquee names on the market, including Jhoan Duran of the Minnesota Twins, Emmanuel Clase of the Cleveland Guardians and Felix Bautista of the Baltimore Orioles, with a second tier led by David Bednar of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Ryan Helsley of the St. Louis Cardinals.

The Dodgers hate to overpay.

Jansen has 17 saves and one blown save, with a 1.00 earned-run average in save situations and a 3.19 ERA overall. The latter is his lowest ERA since 2021. By ERA+, a statistic that accounts for league and ballpark factors, Jansen is at 133 — or 33% better than league average.

The only Dodgers relievers with an ERA+ above 133: left-handers Alex Vesia and Jack Dreyer.

Dodgers relievers have thrown 49.1% of the team’s innings pitched; the highest percentage of any major league team. Vesia, Anthony Banda and the injured Tanner Scott rank among the top 20 in appearances. Ben Casparius, who earned his first major league save Friday, ranked second among major league relievers in innings pitched.

In an ideal world, the Dodgers would enter the playoffs with four primary right-handed relievers: Blake Treinen, Michael Kopech, Brusdar Graterol and Evan Phillips.

Phillips is out for the season. Treinen could return from the injured list next week, with Kopech possibly to follow next month and Graterol in September, but it is risky to count on injured players to return healthy and effective.

In a major league career that started in 2010, Jansen never has been on the injured list because of an elbow or forearm issue, and his two stints for shoulder inflammation were brief.

The Dodgers could drop Jansen into their mix of high-leverage right-handers. They would not want Jansen if he would want to be the unquestioned closer.

He is getting the job done as a closer, and he is getting closer to 500 saves. But the Dodgers’ analysts would probably take note of his career highs in exit velocity and hard-hit balls, and a .774 OPS against left-handers that compares unfavorably to his .600 career mark, and might want to spot him against a run of right-handers. Could be the sixth inning, could be the ninth.

Whether it’s the Dodgers or any other contending team, would Jansen consider a role outside the ninth inning?

“At that point, it’s just about getting rings,” Jansen said. “My goal is to win. You play for that, always. I understand there is a milestone I am close to. But, at the end of the day, it’s what you play for. You play to win. You play to win a World Series.

“If I have to go throw the sixth, seventh, eighth, I would do it. I’m a professional. I would do what I do best, and that is pitch.”

Jansen said he hasn’t given up on this Angels team, or this Angels season. He would love to win in Anaheim. The Angels could help him do that: Trade him for another pitching piece that could help them next year, then sign Jansen again over the winter.

WEST SACRAMENTO — Taylor Ward hit a two-run homer, Nolan Schanuel also went deep and the Angels beat the skidding Athletics 4-3 on Monday night in the opener of a four-game series.

Kenley Jansen struck out Tyler Soderstrom for the final out with a runner on second. Coming off a surprising three-game sweep at Dodger Stadium, the Angels (21-25) have won four in a row to start a seven-game trip.

The Athletics (22-26) have lost six straight and 10 of 12, falling to 8-14 at Sutter Health Park.

Schanuel, who had three hits and scored twice, connected off J.T. Ginn for his third homer this season to give the Angels the lead two batters into the game. Ginn was activated to make his fourth start of the year and first since April 24, when elbow inflammation landed him on the 10-day injured list.

Lawrence Butler’s double, a walk and a hit batter loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the first against Angels starter José Soriano. Butler scored when Brent Rooker grounded into a double play, and Shea Langeliers’ infield single made it 2-1.

Zach Neto singled and Schanuel doubled to start the third. Yoán Moncada had an RBI groundout before Ward hit his 13th homer for a 4-2 lead.

Soderstrom doubled with two outs in the fifth and scored on Rooker’s single to make it 4-3.

Soriano (3-4) went six innings, giving up three runs on six hits and four walks. Jansen gave up a two-out single to Jacob Wilson in the ninth before pinch-runner Max Schuemann stole second. Jansen fanned Soderstrom on three pitches for his ninth save in nine opportunities.

Ginn (1-2) left after four innings and 79 pitches, yielding four runs and six hits with seven strikeouts.

Key moment: Soriano loaded the bases with one out in the third before striking out Langeliers and Nick Kurtz swinging to escape unscathed.

Key stat: Rooker has a 15-game hitting streak against the Angels. Bill North set the club record in the series at 17 games spanning the 1974 and ’75 seasons.

Up next: RHP Kyle Hendricks (1-5, 5.18 ERA) pitches Tuesday for the Angels against RHP Gunnar Hoglund (1-1, 3.78), who makes his fourth career start.

SAN DIEGO — Fernando Tatis Jr. hit a two-run 430-foot walk-off homer to centerfield to give the San Diego Padres a comeback 6-4 victory over the Angels on Tuesday night.

Tatis dropped the bat emphatically and watched the ball fly after he connected on a cutter against Angels closer Kenley Jansen (0-2), who took the loss.

Padres reliever Jason Adam (4-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth.

Matthew Lugo hit a pinch-hit two-run homer in the seventh to give the Angels a 4-2 lead. Lugo’s homer followed an RBI double in the seventh by Jo Adell, igniting a three-run rally after the Angels had two outs and no baserunners.

Angels starter José Soriano gave up two unearned runs and four hits in seven innings.

Padres starter Dylan Cease pitched 6 2/3 innings, giving up two runs and five hits while striking out 10.

The Padres ended their two-game losing streak and finally beat the Angels, who had won their last four games over San Diego dating back to last season.

Key moment

With the score tied 4-4 in the ninth, Elias Díaz earned a full count walk to lead off the inning against Jansen. Tatis followed with his walk-off homer.

Key stat

Padres hot-hitting Jackson Merrill came into the game with six straight multihit games and hits in 14 of his last 15 games. Merrill was 0 for 4 Tuesday, including two deep flyouts to the wall. Tatis has hit safely in 23 of his last 26 games.

Up next

The Angels’ Randy Vásquez (2-3, 3.76 ERA) starts Wednesday night in the finale of the three-game series. Kyle Hendricks (1-4, 5.30) will be on the mound for the Padres.